Means for operating suction-actuated devices in connection with internal-combustion engines



T March 9 1926;

s. BRAGG ET AL MEANS FOR OPERATING SUCTION ACTUATED DEVICES IN CONNECTION WITH INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 25 1925 I IL bwwm;

Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITEDSTATES PATIENT OFFICE,

CAL B s. BRAGG, or PALM IB AeI FLORIDA, AND VICTOR W. KLIESRATI-I, PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOBS T0 BRAGG-KLIESRATH CORPORATION, OF LONG ISLAND CITY NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR OPERATING sUoTIoN-Ao'rUATEn' DEVICES IN CONNECTION WI'I'II' INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed June 25, 1925. Serial No. 39,420.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, CALEB .S. Bnnee, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Palm Beach, in the county of. Palm Beach and State of Florida, and VIe'ron \V. KLIEs- I BATH, a citizen of the United State s, residing at Port WVashington, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Operating Suetion Ac'tnated Devices in Connection with Internal 'Gombustion Engines; and we do. hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the same,-selected by us for purposes of i1lustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

tion actuated devices, in connection 'with in ternal combustion enginesyit is extremely convenient to obtain the necessary suction or partial vacuum from a suction passage of the internal combustion engine, and located between the throttle valve for controlling sarily tends to' reduce the degree of rarefieation therein, and therefore to prevent the drawing in of the proper quantity of liquid 7 fuel from the atomizer of the carburetor, or

to dilute the explosivev mixture passing through the suction passage frequently to such an extent that the resulting mixture reaching the engine cylinders willnot readily ignite. In either case, the engine,

if-turning over idly, would be l-ikely to stall and the admission of air into the manifold in this manner may also materially delay the starting of the engine; It is also to be 'un derstood that for the proper operation, of a vacuum brake mechanismof a motor vehicle, it is desirable that the air shall be withdrawn from thebrake actuating mechanism as rapidly as possible in order to insure quick operation of the brake mechanism, and that the use, of any restriction in the passage connecting the brake actuating mechanism with the intake manifold, for the ourpose of avoiding the stalling of the engine and delay the starting, would necessarily result in retarding the operation of the brake mechanism to a greater, or less-extent, and is therefore undesirable It is-also-to be understood that in the operation of vacuum brake mechanisms, the

acted upon by differential pressures brought moving part of the suction actuated device is In the operation of vacuum brakes for automotive vehicles or other vacuum or snc-- about b roducin a condition of rareficah tion on one side .of the piston, under thecon- .trol of suit-able reversing valve mechanism,

and that the air so admitted is withdrawn.

and delivered into the suction passage of the engine, usually the intake manifold, that is to say, between the throttle and the cylinder ports. v

The object of our invention is to provide means in connection with a mul'ti-cylinder internal combustion engine for preventing the air withdrawn from a suction actuated device operatively connected with a suction passage of the engine, and delivered thereintofroin stalling the engine or materially interfering with the operation thereof, and

it Fconsists in providing the engine with a plurality of independent carburetors, each. of which is connected with a' suitable mani fold for supplying charges of explosivemixture to certain cylinders only of the engine and connect the suct on from the vacuum actuated device, as a power actuator for operating the brake mechanism of the vehicle propelled by the engine to one only of sai'dmanifolds, so that when the suction actuated device'is operated in such manner asto eff feet the withdrawal of considerable quantities of air therefrom, said air will be delivered into a suction passage, or manifold,. supplying only a portion of the cylinders of" the engine, and while it may somewhat inmanifold, it will have no etl'ect whatever on the operation of the other cylinders of the.

engine, which are supplied by a different suction passage and a different. carburetor, so

that the engine will not in any case be stalled, but will continue to operate under the action of the explosions in the cylinder connected with the suctionpassage, or pas sages, to which thesuction pipe from the actuator is not connected. For example, in the case of a four cylinder engine, we mav employ two carburetors, each connected with a manifold supplying explosive charges to two cylinders only, and'connect the suction pipe to one of said manifolds. As an example of the manner in which our invention may be embodied, in the case of a six cylinder engine, we may employ two carburetors connected to separate manifolds, each supplying explosive charges to three cylinders, or we may employ three carburetors and three separate manifolds, each supplying explosive'charges to two cylinders, and in either case connect the suction pipe from the suction actuated device, to one manifold only.. In like manner, the invention may be embodied in engines having eight, twelve, sixteen or more cylinders, in which separate carburetors and separate manifolds supply different groups of cylinders.v a In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic View showing an installation inv an automotive vehicle, comprising an internal combustion engine of the multi-cylinder type, brake mechanism for the vehicle, and a vacuum or suction operated power actuator for'the brake mechanism, and having our present invent-ion embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one form of power actuator which may be conveniently employed in an installation of this kind.

- a Fig. 3 is anenlarged elevation .of the enorsuction actuated device for operating the brake mechanism of the vehicle. It is to be understood, however, that the suction actuated device may be employed for other purposes in connection with the vehicle, and that the installation may be employed in any type of vehicle, as" a boat, aeroplane, etc. In this figure, l represents the cylinder of a power actuator of the kind illustrated in our former t pe of suctionastuator. The cylinder is in' this instance provided with a double acting piston, 3, as shown in Fig. 2, and a hollow piston rod, 5, which is connected bya link,

73, to a brake lever, 72, for operating a brakemechanism of any usual or preferred construction, diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. l, and con'iprising in thisinstance a brake band, 71 and brake drum, 70, so that the movement of the piston in one direction applies the brake, and inthe opposite direction, releases the brake. The hub of the actuator piston is provided with reversing valve mechanism, which is operated by a longitudinally movable valve actuating rod, or sleeve, 20, extending therethrough and through the hollow piston rod, and projecting through the opposite end of the cylinder from the piston rod, said valve mechanism being so constructed as to place one end of the cylinder in communication with the suction line or pipe, 26, extending to a suction passage of the engine, and the other end of the cylinder in communication with the atmosphere and vice versa, according as the valve-actuating sleeve is moved in one direc tion or in the other. The valve actuating sleeve is provided with an internal plug or partition, 23, the rear portion of the sleeve (to the right in Fig, 2), being connected to the atmosph a e through an aperture, 5, in

v the hollow piston rod, and the opposite end of the valve sleeve being connected to a suc tion pipe, 26, at least a portion of which is flexible to permit'of the movement of the valve sleeve-20. In this instance wc have shown the valve sleeve, 20, provider"L with two. pairs of oppositely arranged valves, et0 41 and 4243, loosely mounted on the valve sleeve, and having interposed between the valves of each pair, retracting and sealing members, 50, tending to seat the valves 'of each pair, said valves being opened by means of collars, 51, secured to the sleeve, 20, onopposite sides of the respective pairs of valves. The hub of the piston is provided with a centrally located suction chamber, 3*, communicating with the suction portion of the sleeve, 20, and provided with an airinlet chamber 3*, communicating with the atmosphere through lateral'apertur'es in the other portion of the sleeve, 20. The piston is also provided with ports, Maud 35, on opposite sides of the piston communicating with the suction chamber, and with'gports,

33 and 36, on opposite sidesofi'rthe-piston communicating with the airinlet chamber,

. of the piston when the latter is in the nor-" 3", by. suitable passages. In the form of-actuator herein shown, the air is exhausted from the actuator cylinder, on'both sides mal or off position, so that the actuatorcylinder itself serves also the purpose of a vacuum storage space, and obviates the neeessity of providing an extraneous suction or vacuum tank.

, complished by providing the valve actuating sleeve, 20, with a stop, as for example, the shoulder, 21., in Fig. 2, which will arrest the sleeve in such position that when the piston is in its retracted position, the central valves, indicated at ll, and 42, of the re-' versing valve mechanism, will beoheld in open position and thereby place the cylinder March 5, 1925, and this valve mechanism,

per se, will not be specifically claimed here in. It does, however cooperate with and forma part of our present invention. r

represents an internal combustion en gine, in this instance provided with six cylinders and having a plurality of manifolds,

each supplying a group of cylinders, and

each manifold being provided with a separate carburetor. In this particular instance,

we have shown the engine provided with three manifolds, 61, 62 and 63, each of which is connected withtwo cylinders of the engine. ;Each manifold is provided-with aseparate carburetor, ofany usual or desired type, the separate carburetors being 1nd1- cate'd at 64, 65 and 66. WVe have also shown I a separate throttle valve interposedbetween each carburetor and its manifold, the throttle valve being illustrated at 67, 68. and 69,

respectively, which may bej' separately controlled or connected for joint operation, as

indicated in the drawings The suction pipe,

26, is connected to the ma'nifold,-63, only, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the suction pipe being preferably provided with. a check valve, as indicated z t-26?, to prevent any of the explosive mixture from passing into the.

actuator, and also to maintain the highest possible degree of rarefieation in the actuator. 1

The sleeve, 20, is operatively connected with a foot lever, 74, or other operator operated device, provided with a retracting In this instance this is acoperated, all the cylinders of theengine will receive their full charges of explosive mix ture without diminution or dilution. In the operation of the actuator,.which admits air therefrominto a suction passa e of the engine, it will affect only the manifold, 63, and the cylinders supplied thereby, and will have no effect whatever on the remaining cylinders of the engine, which will continue to function in the ordinary manner, and-insure the continuous operation of the engine, even though air is admitted fromthe actuator into the manifold, 63, in sufficiently large quantities to prevent the ignition and explpsiontherein by either diluting the exploslve mixture supplied to the manifold,

.63, or so reducing the'rarefication therein 'as to. prevent the proper amount of liquid fuel being thrown in thereto during a few revolutions of the engine shaft.

In praotice'we prefer to employ the actuator of the kind shown in Fig. 2, and previously described, for the reason that as a partial vacuum is maintainedin the cylinder on, both sides of the piston, when the latter is in the off or normal position, the operation of the foot lever in a direction to apply the brakes, will shift the sleeve, 20, and the reversing valve mechanism controlled thereby 'in such manner as to. place the cylinder on the forward side of the piston (to the left in Fig. 2) in communication with the suction pipe, 26, and to place the cylinder in rear of the piston (to the right in Fig; 2) in communication with the air inlet chamber', 8*, so, that the brakes will be instantly applied, while. no appreciable amount'of air will be admitted into the intake manifold, 63. There will, therefore, be no appreciable effect on 1 any part of the engine cylinders when the brakes are applied. When the reversing valve mechanism is moved in the opposite direction so as to place the rear portion of the cylinder in communication with the sucti o n pipe,*'.2 6, and the forward portion of the cylinder in communication with the at mosphere, theyair previously admitted to apply the brakes, will be withdrawn and delivered into the intakemanifold. 63, and "may be'withdrawn in such quantities as to interfere with the operation ofthe cylinders supplied by the manifold, 63, but will not inany degree affect the cylinders supplied by the other manifold,. or manifolds, so that even if the 'c linder' connected with the manifold, 63, siould miss firing for one or more revolutions of the engine shaft, the engin'e cannot stall, and it"- operation will notice injuriously interfered with.

It is to be understood that our present invention can be carried into effect in con nection with any suction actuated device of any ordinary or preferred construction. It will also be seen that there is an added advantage of employing in connection therewith, our improved actuator, in which the piston is submerged'in a partial vacuum when in-theoff position, as this contributes to produce more efficient results by reason of the fact that, as no appreciable quantity of air is admitted to the manifold, 63, when the brakes are applied, any retardation of the action of the actuator piston which might be caused by the fact that it depends for its'suction only on the pumping action of a group of the cylinders, and not upon the pumping action of all the cylinders, will effect only the return movement of the piston, which releases the brake. This does not interfere with the highest efiiciency of the braking system, as the application of the brakes-will be instantaneous, as previously described.

lVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. The combination with a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine provided with a plurality of suction passages, each of said passages supplying explosive charges to cer- --tain only of the cylinders. a carburetor communicating with each of said suction passages, and a throttle valve in each of said passages, of a suction actuated device, an air connection therefrom extending to certain of said suction passages less than the fwhole number thereof, whereby the withdrawal of air from said suction actuated device in the operation thereof will not afburetor for each "of said manifolds, a throt- -tle valve interposed between each carburetor, and itsmanifolthof a suction actuated device and air connection extending from the suction actuated device to certain of said manifolds, less than the whole number thereof and connected thereto between the throtile valve, or valves, thereof'and the engine cylinders, whereby the withdrawal of air from the suction actuated device will not affect the operation of the engine cylinders connected with the manifold, or manifolds,

not'congected with the suction actuated de vice.

'3. The combination with; a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine, provided with a plurality of intake manifolds, each connected with certain cylinders only of the engine, a separate carburetor for each man1-,

fold, and a throttle valve interposed between each carburetor and each manifold, of a suction acutated dev1ce,an a r connecv 4., The combination with a multi-cylinder internal combustlon engine provided with aplurality of independent suction passages, each suction passage being connected with certain only of the engine cylinders, a separate carburetor for each of said suction passages, a throttle valve for each of said suction passages, a power actuator including a cylinder, a double acting piston therein, and reversing valve mechanism, an air con nection from said reversing valve mechanism to certain of said suction passages less than the whole number thereof, said valve mechanism being constructed to connect the cylinder on both sides of the piston with said air connection when the actuator piston is in the oil' position,and means for supplying higher pressure fluid to the actuator cylinder under the control of the reversing valve mechanism, and operator operated means for said reversing valve mechanism, whereby the withdrawal of air from the actuator cylinder in the operation thereof will not affect the operation of the cylinders receiving their explosive charges from the suction passage not connected with said actuator, and whereby the actuator piston may be operated in one direction without admitting appreciable quantities of air to the suc- ,tion passages connected therewith.

' 5. In an. automotive vehicle, the combination with a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine for propelling the same, saidengine being provided with a plurality of suction passages, each of which supplies explosive charges to certain only of the'engine cylinders, a separatecarburetor connected with each of said suction passages, a

throttle valve in each ofsaid suction passages, between the carburetor and the cylinders supplied therefrom, of a power ac- ,tuator including a cylinder, a'double acting piston therein, and reversing valve mechanism, an air conny ction from said reversing valve mechanis nto certain of said suction passages of the engine less than the whole number thereof, andmeans for supplying atmospheric air to the actuator cylinder under the control of said reversing valve mechanism, said reversing valve mechanism being constructed to connect the actuator cylinder on both sides of the piston with said air connection when the actuator piston is in off position, brake mechanism for the vehicle connected with the actuator piston, and an operator operated part for controlling the reversing valve mechanism, whereby the operation of the actuator piston in a direction to apply the brakes, will charges from the suction passage or passages not admit appreciable quantities of air innot connected with the actuator. t to the suction passage, or passages, cony In testimony whereofwe afiix'our sigma-- nected with the actuator and the Withdrawal tures.

of air from the actuator in the'operation thereof will not afl'ect the operation of the f CALEB S. BRAGG. engine cylinders receiving their explosii'e V VICTOR W. KLIESRATH. 

